Morphological and rheological studies of polyethylene by light scattering

The technique of photographic light scattering was employed to study films of medium and high molecular weight linear polyethylene. Results on the high molecular weight polymer show that secondary crystallization is severely restricted, that oxidation induces further crystallization, and that annealing may lead to tilted chain lamellae. Results of experiments conducted on films of the medium molecular weight polymer while subjected to tensile stress indicate that spherulite deformation occurs at very small strains in agreement with proposed theories.